1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a tactical power adapter and, more particularly, to a portable power adapter which adapts power from a wide range of power sources and supplies power to portable electronic devices with various power requirements.
2. Description of the Related Art
As our world becomes more technologically advanced, the demand for electrical power becomes more sophisticated. With the advent of portable electronic devices, such as lap-top computers and satellite phones, there is a great demand for an electrical power supply that is small enough to be portable, yet supplies power for increased periods of time and for a variety of voltages to accommodate various electric devices. Conventional portable power supplies are not adequately "flexible" to meet these demands and the world has, therefore, gone without a portable power supply with the flexibility to meet the needs of people located far from a stationary power outlet.
Conventionally, portable electronic devices relied on batteries for power because batteries are available in different voltage sizes to accommodate the different voltage requirements of various electronic devices. However, batteries are short lived and are disposed if they cannot be recharged. When large numbers of electronic devices are deployed, the amount of batteries disposed becomes a problem. Today's military, for example, is ever increasingly reliant on portable electronic devices which primarily rely on batteries. Military operations often require soldiers and their equipment to be far from stationary power sources for lengthy periods of time and many batteries are disposed. Campers on Campgrounds, similarly, exhaust large quantities of batteries, which power flashlights, radios and other camping equipment.
The lack of flexibility of conventional devices also impedes the integration of existing future tactical electronic devices. For example, lap-tops include batteries, but printers may not and a user, wishing to obtain a hard copy while outdoors, cannot integrate the lap-top with a printer.
The conventional devices also lack the ability to interface with worldwide electrical power sources. For example, conventional batteries made for American standard electronic devices require different adapters to be recharged from power sources around the world.
The conventional devices cannot supply power to all types of electronic devices and, therefore, require numerous conventional devices to power all of the electronic devices. Particularly, in military operations where numerous electronic devices are employed, for example, to track enemies, communicate with friendly forces and create strategies, numerous conventional power supplies are required to supply power to all the necessary electronic devices.
The conventional devices also lack the ability to provide a successful system of management of power because the conventional devices are numerous and hard to keep track of. It is simply impossible to keep track of all the batteries used. Therefore, conventional devices do not provide a power management system which allows a manager to determine how much power is being used and how much power is required in the future.
Conventional devices also supply power inefficiently. As a result, power is wasted when transferring power from batteries to the electronic devices.
In today's cost-conscientious world, there is a demand to reduce costs. Although some batteries can be recharged, the reality is that batteries are not recharged and are permanently disposed after a short life. In the military, for example, batteries must be transported away from the field of operations, otherwise an enemy may be able to track the movements of the soldiers. Fresh batteries must then be transported from around the world to the field of operations which further increases the cost of the batteries. Every disposable battery used must be replaced by a battery shipped from overseas. This results in increased air and sea-lift requirements. Also the batteries compete with other necessary items of supply for logistics buildup in a military operation. Further, shipping the batteries increases maintenance costs on the transport crafts used to transport the batteries to the theater of operations.
Heretofore, a power supply has not been available with the flexibility to support numerous portable electronic devices which can adapt power according to an operator's needs and provides system management for managing power and reducing costs.